April Fools

Of Our Father Amongst The Saints

John Damascene

The Dogmatic or An Exact Exposition Of The Orthodox Faith

Further, they say that there are in the heaven twelve signs made by the stars, and that these move in an opposite direction to the sun and moon, and the other five planets, and that the seven planets pass across these twelve signs. Further, the sun makes a complete month in each sign and traverses the twelve signs in the same number of months. These, then, are the names of the twelve signs and their respective months:—

The Ram, which receives the sun on the 21st of March.
The Bull, on the 23rd of April.
The Twins, on the 24th of May.
The Crab, on the 24th of June.
The Lion, on the 25th of July.

The Virgin, on the 25th of August.
The Scales, on the 25th of September.
The Scorpion, on the 25th of October.
The Archer, on the 25th of November.
Capricorn, on the 25th of December.
Aquarius, on the 25th of January.
The Fish, on the 24th of February.

But the moon traverses the twelve signs each month, since it occupies a lower position and travels through the signs at a quicker rate. For if you draw one circle within another, the inner one will be found to be the lesser: and so it is that owing to the moon occupying a lower position its course is shorter and is sooner completed.

Annunciation, on the 25th of March.
The Great and Holy Martyr George, on the 23rd of April.
The Holy Emperors Constantine and Helen, on the 21st of May.
The Birth of Saint John the Baptist, on the 24th of June.
The Holy and Glorious Apostles Peter and Paul, on the 29th of June.
The Holy and Glorious Prophet Elijah, on the 20th of July.
The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist, on the 29th of August.
The Conception of Saint John the Baptist, on the 23rd of September.
The Great and Holy Martyr Demetrius, on the 26th of October.
The Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called, on the 30th of November.
Christmas, on the 25th of December.
The Three Holy Hierarchs, on the 30th of January.

Nevertheless, with the ancient Romans themselves not honoring or observing any of the aforementioned calendrical dates with any particular feasts or celebrations, we are simply left wondering, only to ask ourselves: whence the idea in the first place?